The School
by A Happy Coincidence
Summary: "The School was a place not for your usual textbook subjects, no, the only thing taught here was a fast lesson in survival." When Max is caught for the last time she is faced with a decision. Six months in solitary confinement, or the opportunity to complete the remainder of her studied if thats what you call the little you learn from day time TV and leap frog at 'The School'.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Crime and Punishment.**

Flying. There is no word really like it. It is one of those words that actually sounds like what it is describing, one of those words where no other name would fit its meaning. Flying is, well, flying. The ultimate sense of freedom... ha, freedom? What a joke, not in this place, not right now. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that people still use that word, that it did not die out long ago, back in the days where it actually meant something to people. Now it's just an empty word.

It was times like these where I often imagined of flying. What it would be like, up there in the clouds with the clouds high above you and the wind calling your name. Ok, that last line was a little too Disney for my taste, but you get my drift. Even if I could not physically escape from this place right now - from the podium where I knew fifty eyes were staring at my closed ones – my mind would be free from the restrictions of the handcuffs at my wrists, free to wonder, free to fly. Deep down it was the ultimate security I retreated to in these situations. No matter how much I was outnumbered, no matter what sort of injury inflicted my body, no matter how many times my heart was broken, these people could only inflict physical damage. Now my mind? Yeh, that is a heck of allot harder to kill. So please try harder, your creativity is outstanding..

I was getting wrestles to the point where I could not even distinguish between my own sarcastic comments, and the preaching's of the ever so wise and just – and aptly named might I add – Judge Pain. The one and only!

"Do I look like a fool to you Miss Ride?" The deep booming voice of the remarkably small man seemed to echo off the walls of the Parliament buildings stylish interior. I smirked at his growing anger seeping into his words. After all, standing in the middle of your own hearing, eyes closed and daydreaming isn't exactly the best way to impress your Parole officers now is it? Maybe I'm just old fashioned...

"I don't know Sir, you look like a Pain to me. I bet you come from a long line of Pains." I retorted, quite happy with myself about the obvious pun I made with his name. "A pain in the-"

"That is quite enough Miss Ride, I will advise you hold your tongue when addressing the man who is currently deciding the delicate state of your present freedom, or should I say, lack thereof".

Ha. There was that word again. Freedom. Like this buffoon in the ridiculous wig knew anything about that, he looks like a cream puff! Oh shit, now I am hungry, great, just what I needed, only twenty minutes in and I have already got the munchies! I looked down at my tatted watch, from the angle that is was behind my back still encased in handcuffs the time read half past seven. It would be getting dark soon.

"... decision Miss Ride?" He looked down at me from behind his taller podium, his face turning a brighter shade of red when he realised how literally I had taken his previous suggestion about holding my tongue.

"Siy wash taugh tat ibf ter bos nothlin chood tot shay, chen dot chay ith apt apll!" I sputtered triumphantly. I was rewarded with an even sterner look form Judge Pain which told me that I had crossed the line so badly that it was probably more like a dot from where I was!

"Of course, what I mean is SIR..." I began, adding way to much sarcasm onto his title for him not to catch on that I was mocking him, what can I say? Professionally pissing people off seems to be my god given talent, who am I to stand in the way of His divine gifts! "Is that my mother taught me that if there was nothing nice to say, I probably shouldn't say it at all" I raised my voice by a slight octave to give myself that 'Cuteness factor' I already knew had died inside me years ago. Oh well, can't blame a girl for trying!

"From your records here Miss Ride, it stares that you have no living mother, no living... anything really. From birth, a date that is still unclear exactly, you have escaped, been moved, transferred, or abandoned from six different Orphanages, nine foster homes, three cases of closed adoption and two police child safety arrests..." He rattled off the list of accomplishments as if somewhat bewildered himself as to how one sixteen year old girl had avoided lawful figures so successfully.

Having too much fun with this whole arrangement however, I just simply couldn't help myself from interrupting him, after all it would be against my nature not to! " I also speak fluent Finish, love horse ridding and enjoy long moonlit walks on the beach. That is for my resume you are writing is it not? Or some sort of Oasis active account that I am not aware of?" I raised my eyebrows at him, a complete contrast to his sinking lover and lover over his eyes as his temper reached breaking point. Well that would be entertaining! I have had a Copper loose his shit in front of me before, heck even a politician, but a judge? Yeh, not so much. Well there is always a first for everything I guess! However, instead of being baited by my words, he simply inhaled deeply, then continued to read 'classified' information from my file, aka, a brief summary of my accomplishments over the years. Ok, so nine pages of summary, but you get my drift!

"You Miss Ride, find yourself in a very serious situation. I have here multiple records of armed robbery, theft, withheld information from Police, trespass into residential area, trespass into commercial areas, assault, illegal street fighting and jaywalking."

Well if there is one thing that the Police system has going for it, it's there list of priorities! 'I know, let's not catch the murderers and the rapists, but some sixteen year old girl for jaywalking! Yay! Let's cut this crime rate in half, Go team!'. Who are they, the Power Puff Girls or something? Why not throw cookies and rainbows at them, show them what real bad asses look like!

I figured I must have zoned out again because at that moment Mr Pain-in-the-patella climed down from his lofty perch of a podium that he clearly was mistaking for a thrown.

"Come down to join the commoners are we?" He was inches away from me now, determined to do his whole good-cop-bad-cop routine that was clearly failing, and fast. "Now. Miss Ride. Due to the fact that you obviously cannot handle being treated as an adult, something that you clearly didn't deserve in the first place, a child is how you will be treated in the future." I stepped slightly towards him, standing my ground, a challenge in my eyes saying nothing more than 'Bring it!'

"The decision is entirely in your own hands now Miss Ride, however the choice will be taken away if our little child here cannot make a decision! For crimes committed your punishment will entail either A) Spending a duration of six months in solitary confinement in Juvenile Prison..." Yeh, like anyone in their half right mind would ever choose that appealing prosperity! "B) Enrol on a permanent basis as a border at The School." He handed his assistant a pamphlet of some sort which was in turn slipped into the top of my jeans pocket. Some light reading material for later! "A world wide known prestigious school, holding one spot of a Miss M Ride" "His eyes narrowed, not entirely believing the offer. " Or C)..." His eyes narrowed, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Remain under house arrest for six months with a new foster family".

No. There was no way, I was ever, EVER, going back into a home, or a house or a foster what not! I closed my eyes trying to suppress the memories that tried to seep their way through the emotional barriers of my defence mechanisms. But I was too late. Flashing pictures of places and people that seemed too alien to ever be memories from my own life managed to fight their way to the front of my mind.

Running.

Gloves.

Staircase.

Fear.

Belt.

Snake.

Blood.

I shook the images from my mind. Today was not the day to lose my mastered Poker face. I didn't spend years suppressing those memories for nothing you know, sometimes there is a reason for things staying buried...

Ok, I had had enough, I was getting the hell out of this place right here, right now. Captain Pain in the Ass had officially ticked me off enough to stimulate my fight or flight reflex. Or should I say, fight AND flight reflex. The two sort of came hand in hand with me. I was always one for having my cake and eating it... although as an orphan it always seemed to turn out 'having my whatever-food-I-could-find-on-the-floor-at-the-time and eating it'! Details, who needs them?

Taking advantage of yet another one of the Judges rambles, I clicked open the handcuffs I had been jimmying with a hair clip for the last ten minutes, gave the ol' uppercut a swing, then legged it like a bat out of hell for the doors. There was only one thing I had in mind.

Freedom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – **

1

Check your blind spots.

2

Find the exits – right turn here!

4, no shit, forgot 3!

3

Weapon! Available weapon at all times!

4

Trust your instincts.

I skidded into a side ally, nearly crashing over a small bin conveniently paced right in the middle of the path! I think I had lost them. Giving in to my legs need for a rest, I leaned against the cobble brick wall, gave up, and slid down it into a sitting position, head on my knees. And then I listened.

No footsteps? Good sign so far?

Train Whistle... must be near the station, Port Side maybe?

Traffic. Obviously downtown somewhere. By the smell I'd definitely say Commercial area.

Panting.

... wait. Panting?

Snapping my head up from my knees I found myself now nose to nose with a shaggy black little mop. One that was almost impossible to tell which end was which if not due to the matted tail wagging furiously.

"Total!" I half screamed, half whispered, still slightly paranoid but overwhelmed with the sensation to pick up the small dog and squeeze the life out of him. Which of course I wouldn't do, animal cruelty laws are a bitch to get out of! The small scottie barked excitedly at my enthusiastic welcome, it had been a few days since I had seen him, having a court hearing and all.

Total and I have been somewhat 'partners' for years. Never living in one place very long is somewhat of a lonely business believe it or not, but I am not exactly in the habit of sticking around people that much either. Total is the one person – well, dog – who actually semi understands where I am coming from, having been abandoned himself at birth. I think it was orphanage number two... or was it three? To be honest they all seem to blur together. Fact is, I was around eight years old when I acquired Total, and so he has been the only real solid family I have ever had. From house to house, town to town, orphanage to orphanage, the little Scottie just seemed to follow me anywhere and everywhere, his nose always seeming to find me. Which is either really saying something about his immense sense of smell... or something entirely different about my hygiene levels! Not that he could talk... I didn't have exactly the facilities to bathe him very often, just the sudden throw into a river or a large accumulation of water!

Partly tired from running so far, partly paranoid of still being chased, I slunk behind one of the larger dustbins in the ally, beckoning Total to come closer for body heat. He happily obliged, hopping straight into my lap with no second thought. It was then that I remembered the pamphlet that Pain had given me. I figure now was a good time as any to distract myself from anything, everything, and so the closest reading material would suffice!

The pamphlet was rather large with a glossy shine to its print, obviously a school with money to burn, hence wasting it on 'shinny paper' because you know, starving kids in Africa don't need the spare change? Or hey, starving kids in your own city, like me for example! The cover was a simple black and white colour scheme, obviously the uniform that the convicts, I mean 'students' wear there. In big bold letters above the emblem of a sword were the words 'The School'.

"Honestly Total, who was the creative mastermind behind calling a school, 'THE SCHOOL'" I scoffed, imagining what it would be like if they honestly sent me there. I had been to schools before, all with the same result. I'll give you a clue. I aint there now! On the inside was a map of the grounds, three main buildings in a semicircle around another, much larger building with the letters I.T.E.X imprinted on them. The other three buildings were mainly administration, dormitories and classrooms, but this third building was strange, old and modern looking at the same time, completely alien yet... oddly familiar...

There were pictures on the inside, next to some information about how great the school is, how students really grow as proper human beings there, how they reach their full potential blab la bla. The photos were of students in classrooms, all of different ages and both genders. At first glance they looked like your average bored 'putting on this fake smile because its picture time' school kids. But then...there was also something different about their faces. They were all smiling, but the same. The exact same smile on each and every child, like there was something they were covering up. Like there was something they were hiding.

There was a rustling nearby, footsteps, but only one pair that I could make out. They were moving closer. Instinctively I reached for Total, patting him reassuringly on the back while at the same time unfastening the spare flip knife I attached to his make shift collar. Getting to my feet slowly, I inched my way around the dustbin, trying to see the intruder, knife at the ready position. As I peered over the rotting remainders of what was a taco in another life, my eyes met a pair of much colder, darker ones.

Trying to maintain some element of surprise still (even though I think that was apparently lost when I was heard talking to my dog!) I took the first move, stepping boldly at the stranger, the pocket knife concealed within my sleeve, a quick release method I developed years ago.

"Who are you" I said in a clear voice, never breaking eye contact with the strangers eyes. Well 'eye' singular, the other was permanently concealed via a lock of his tousled jet black hair. The boy, around sixteen, seventeen I guessed took a step forward also, matching my challenge to try and intimidate him. Although he showed no fear, a small smirk began to form on his bottom lip as he eyed his challenger, aka, me!

"Fang"

"I'll ask you again, who are you" I was more forceful this time, purposely showing a glint of the metal concealed in my sleeve. The boy took notice of the fact that I was armed, being visually unarmed himself, he eyed me warily, but the playful smirk still remained. "My name is Fang" he said again, mocking my stern tone.

"I asked who you were, not what your name was." The boy- 'Fang' – was rather tall, well, taller than me, but that wasn't exactly hard! His clothes were almost as tatty as mine, black plain t-shirt under a torn leather jacket and jeans. I looked him up and down, trying to decode what his angle was. Who was this guy? From the state of his converse sneakers it showed that he had come a long way. He was toned, but not skinny, strong but well fed, so he must not have come from a similar situation as me, so... what? If he doesn't look like a foster kid, or just your regular alleyway bum, who was this guy?

"I'm looking for someone. What's your name?"

"How about I stick to asking the questions bucko?" I retorted, carefully sliding the knife out of my sleeve in attempt to show that I was not messing around. I had gone through too much tonight to be dragged back to a cell by some coppers son or something!

"Your call sweetheart" He winked at me! The nerve of some people!

"Alright, for arguments sake, the names Max. Not sweetheart savvy?"

He chuckled, a deep sound originating somewhere deep within his chest rather than his throughs. "_Max_? Doesn't sound like something you'd name a girl, parents hoping for a boy I see?" He smirked and pouted a little trying to mask the fact that he was slowly edging closer.

"Max" I corrected him. "So _Fang_ hey? Sounds like something I'd name him" I thrust my thumb towards Total, who took a protective stance a little way behind me. "Parents can't bargain for anything more than a lap dog?" I matched his mocking tone, but we both were growing more and more anxious of one another, each slightly circling the other as if in a battle stance, sizing the other up. Fortunately I had training on my side, years of running from authority and street fights gave me the edge of experience, surprise tack ticks, something which this school kid didn't' h-

"OUCH" I landed on the floor with a bang, somewhat bewildered to what the hell just happened. Slightly dizzy and probably concuss, I realised I had been tackled to the ground by Fang, who by now had knocked the knife from my hands, pined both of my arms in one of his strong hands, and was now straddling me!

"Now." He said smoothly, evaluating my body with his eyes, tossing his hair to get a better view through his home made personal curtains. "Where were we?"

I glared up at his cocky as hell expression with glaring eyes, but something else lay behind his smug appearance. His eyes began to roam my body once more.

"You know... I think I could get used to you in this position" He leaned in closer and whispered instantly making me grow with rage and a little bit of fear though I would never admit it. I tried desperately to wrestle or wriggle my way free, but his entire body pinned me to the ground. There was no way to entangle myself from his iron like grip. Dude must be on steroids or something! I looked over at Total, a pleading look in my eyes. Girl's best friend however just sat down and started to eat something sticky from the floor, his eyes happily meeting mine every few seconds.

"We'll look at that" I mumbled "Dinner and a show" In defeat I refrained from struggling, it was getting me nowhere and to be honest I was tiring.

"Fine!" I yelled, sinking back into the pavement, feeling the whole of his body press against mine, his smirk bigger than ever. "Take me back! You know what? Solitary confinement is sounding pretty good right now! Anywhere that is away from YOU! Hey, why not take me to the fancy SCHOOL place I don't care! But I am not, and I will not, go back to those people! " I banged my head backwards in frustration, probs not the best move, now my head hurts even more...

For a moment 'Fang' looked almost confused, his eyebrows creasing together just slightly from something that might be worry, before smoothing it out and maintaining his composure.

"What do you know of The School?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –

What? Why would it matter that I had heard of some preppy ass boarding school? It can't be that big of a deal surely? Unless, like of course the walls are made of chocolate or something! Dam... now I'm hungry again. And why is he staring at me like that anyway! His expression, only inches away from my face was scanning mine intently, looking for signs of information that I was obviously failing to give with words. He asked me again, more urgency in his voice this time, like something vastly depended on how well I answered.

Finally the silence got to me, "Nothing ok! I only found out about the place like today! Happy now? Because I sure as hell am not! Get the hell off me, my legs are going to sleep!" I gestured with my head to the way he was positioned above me, my hands pined above my head, my legs immobilised by his hips.

He shifted his weight slightly, reliving the numbness from my tingling legs, bringing new circulated blood to the area. His hands shifted too, bringing with them my arms to rest just under my chin, still in his grip.

A small smile played at the corner of my lips at his action, and seising the opportunity I lifted my head to meet his hands, biting down hard at the flesh just below his right knuckle. Immediately he snatched his hands away with a loud grunting sound, clutching his injured right in his left hand. Free from the clutches of his strong hands, I managed to roll over onto my side, pushing him off of me with the momentum. Within a second, I was on my feet, knife back in hand, staring down at the boy clasping his bitten, and might I add, bleeding, hand on his knees.

His breathing slowed to normal as he tried to tune out the pain, a technique I was all too used to doing. Within a few breaths his breathing slowed to normal, his eyes flashing open and locking with mine, his jaw set with anger.

"That's hitting just a little below the belt, don't you think _sweetheart_?"

"No..." I replied as 'sweetly' as I could, playing on the innocent card and walking over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This is!" And with that I rammed my knee into his groin, making sure to return the smirk he gave me earlier. Nearly doubling over in pain, Fang held both his hands to his crotch, moaning and gasping as he made his way to a standing position.

"Touché" He managed to sputter, still hunched over a little, taking a small step towards me. I held the knife up at arm's length, keeping the distance between us, there was no way I was giving him another opportunity to have the advantage.

He raised an eyebrow, but backed off, lifting his hands at face level as if to demonstrate his surrender, before slouching down the opposite wall of the alley, clearly still in pain and needing rest.

It was less threatening to see him in this position, and so I closed the flip knife and slid it into the back pocket of my jeans, though I stayed standing.

He was the first this time to break the silence between us, the only passing sound of far away traffic and the railway station. "That's quite a knee you've got there, ever thought about joining the police force Maxie?"

I smiled at his apparent attempt of small talk, relaxing against the opposite wall to him, letting my defensive stance partly melt away.

I shrugged. "The police and I arnt exactly on the best terms at the moment. And it's Max. Not Maxie. Not _sweetheart_! Just, Max."

"Well, 'Just Max', let me ask you something." He glanced around the ally warily as if we were being watched. As if what he was about to say he only wanted my ears to hear, his voice dropping to barley a whisper. "What is a pretty girl like you doing all alone in a place like this? How did you get here?" He gestured with his good hand to our surroundings – the cracked cobblestone ally, the rundown deserted buildings, the multitude of garbage cans and dustbins. I had to admit, the place was awful, but I had seen worse.

'Even though the house was beautiful... that didn't stop the evil inside.'

Burning.

Tubes.

Belt.

Snake.

Blood.

I shook my head violently to throw the images from it. When my eyes opened, Fang was looking at me closely, almost worry on his face, before his stone like façade returned. Call me stupid, but for a second it felt like this boy, this random stranger, cared? I must be losing my ability to read people.

"You've got one heck of a guard dog though , I'll give you that. Real Lassie that one!" He poked a thumb at Total, who had repositioned himself at Fangs side, curled up against his hip. I couldn't help myself, at the site of Total snuggling up to Fang, I burst out in laughter. Something now that I think about it, hasn't happened in a while. That just proves what a sad life I live! And que the awww's!

For some reason I took the gamble to semi trust this 'Fang' person. Maybe it was because Total had decided to trust him, maybe it was because somewhere deep down I wanted to trust someone, anyone again, maybe it was because he reminded me allot of myself. Or maybe, just maybe it was because it was now half one in the morning and I honest to god could not be bothered wasting the energy to fight anymore. And so I made my way over to the wall that Fang was leaning against, and slid down next to him.

I smiled at him tentatively, showing that I was going with the gamble to trust him. He smiled in return and nodded his head slightly, understanding my unspoken decision.

"I'm not in the habit of trudging up the past, but if you must know..." I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes and resting my head against the wall. "I was caught. Again actually. But this time they were trying to keep me that way, lock me up somewhere, although they said I had a 'choice'. All prisons are the same, no matter what the decor is... so I seized the opportunity, picked my handcuffs and legged it the hell out of there. Simple really!"

"You picked your handcuffs?" He said after a long pause. "That's kind of impressive."

He looked down at me with a reassuring smile, but his eyes began to roam me again, never sitting still over one part of me for very long, making me feel unconfutable and exposed...

"So..." I began inquisitively. "What is a good looking guy like you doing on this side of town?

He tilted his chin a little, "You think I'm good looking?" he winked.

"Well you said I was pretty! I was simple being polite. We wouldn't want to hurt your fragile feelings now would we?" Bumping him on his arm with my elbow, I poked out my tongue showing him that I was playing. "You didn't answer the question though."

"Like I said. I was looking for someone." Fangs words seemed to trail off with the wind that swept through the alleyway at that moment, his gaze following the leaves that bounced and danced past us.

"Well I think you just won an award for specificity! Is it a friend of yours?" Another gust of wind swept through the alley, sending a shiver down my spine and making me subconsciously scoot closer to Fang, leaning into his radiating body heat. He seemed to smile at this, but his eyes continued to stare at the leaves, a certain sadness hidden within them...

I glanced over at Total, still curled up against Fang, as if as reliant of his body heat as I was. The area was quiet again, the sound of the traffic still present, but it seemed to be further away now, the sound of our breathing becoming more predominant.

"I spy with my little eye..." I began, trying to tease a response out of him. I can't stand awkward silences.

This time it was him who punched me on the arm lightly. "How about we play a different game?" He offered.

"You can't beat the classics! But ok, what did you have in mind?"

After a twenty minute debate on what hypothetical game we should play (all the good ones like monopoly and chess were obviously unavailable) we settled with the good old fashion Truth or Dare, which quickly turned into 'Truth or Truth' as neither of us wanted to leave the warmth of the other. The game that involved the least amount of physical effort was clearly a contributing factor when picking!

"Ok, shoot" He instructed, opening his arms out as if to say 'Hit me with your best shot'.

"How old are you?"

"Really? You have the choice of asking anything in the world and you ask 'How old are you?'" He gave me a playful look before answering "Eighteen. Ok my shot."

He thought about a question for half a minute before asking, "McDonald's does not sell hotdogs you know? How does this lack of hot dogs being sold make you feel?" He pulled a face, as if seriously concerned that the answer to this random and hilarious question was of grave importance.

I burst out laughing again. "Ok then, ummm, to be honest I am really not picky with food, I have kind of just gotten into the habit of eating whatever is thrown my way. But..." I matched his serious tone exactly, playing along with his absurd question. "As a spokesperson for the average consumer of today's society, I can honestly say that I am outraged. Well and truly outraged! How can they blatantly deny customers the opportunity to purchase this great food? Dare I say, this ICONIC food? How can one such food be discriminated against by a worldwide known franchise such as Maccas? What makes a burger better than a hotdog? I call it food racism! End of story. "

Fang gave me a quizzical look before bursting out into laughter himself. "You. Are. Mad" He said between laughs, shaking his head.

"_I'm_ mad?" Shocked. This coming from _him!_

"Yes, and the first step is admitting it. Well done Maxie!"

"You were the one who asked it in the first place, I was just going along with it! And it's MAX!" I retorted, still partly laughing myself.

Fang made a 'W' with his hands and mouthed the word 'Whatever'.

God knows how long the game went on for, could have been an hour, could have been ten minutes; there was no way to tell. Fang and I asked more and more questions to the other, gradually unravelling who that person really was. By the end of it, I guess I had formed a sort of 'friendship' with Fang, or something along those lines. To think that only a few short hours ago I was very nearly close to stabbing him! Now that I think about it, right here, right now, with Fang... this is the closest I have ever been to having a best friend. (Excluding Total of course, but he doesn't count!)

In all these years of bouncing from one temporary life to the next, I had always fallen into the routine of keeping to myself, keeping my head down and my own business hidden. I guess it was easier that way. I always entered one life, one family, one orphanage knowing that it would only be too soon that I would be leaving again. And so I never really made a habit of trying to get close to people. It would just make it harder when we were separated.

However there was still a question on my mind, one that had bugged me since Fang had first brought it up. Something that I just couldn't place...

"Why are you so interested in this 'School' anyway? You asked before what I knew of it, why should that matter so much?"

Fangs body tensed slightly against mine, as if debating whether or not to tell me what was wheeling through his mind right now. Eventually, he reached into his pocket and drew out an envelope, passed it to me silently, then crossed his arms tightly over his chest, never once making eye contact, becoming suddenly very interested in the material of his shoes.

He nodded towards the creased and tattered envelope in my hands, urging me to read what was inside. I tipped the contents onto my lap; newspaper clippings, photos, old recites, telephone numbers, email printouts... my eyes fixed on one photo in particular, it looked fairly recent, but at the same time tatty and worn out, as if the picture had been shown and passed to many people.

"This girl... she is the person you are looking for?" I asked in a small voice, staring at the photo of the tiny girl, no more than seven. The picture depicted a small, blond child squeezing the life out of a stuffed bear, her golden curls falling like a perfect halo around her.

"Not exactly..." He said through gritted teeth. "Angel is my sister. Six months ago she... she disappeared. Kidnapped to be exact. By one Ari Batchelder I am certain." He flicked another photo, one in a newspaper clipping. I read the article.

"Billionaire philanthropist, Mr Ari Batchelder reopens elite private boarding school for the special and advanced... I'm confused. What does this have to do with your missing sister?" I looked down at her photo again, she was so young, so innocent looking, so vulnerable. She reminded me of someone I once knew long ago.

That's when I noticed the other newspaper clippings. "Are these... other missing children?" I looked into the reports of the five different missing persons in front of me, ranging from the age of five to eighteen. Three of them dated back at least ten years, but the other three, the one including Angel, took place within the last six months... within the time that The School was reopened.

"Ok, I can see what you are telling me, there are definitely patterns here Fang. But, with that in mind I also don't see how you are linking these disappearances to The School, or Ari Batchelder for that matter? Here are six completely _different_ people, living completely _different_ lives who all _happen_ to all go missing. None of whom are even remotely connected to what you have just told me." I looked up at him confused, though pain and anger still clouded his eyes.

"Ang is smart ok, she knows what to do in situations. Plus, I can prove it." He rummaged through the pile of papers before retrieving a small sheet with a list of names and numbers.

"...you traced her phone." I whispered, looking at the document Fang was holding. '20th February 2012 – 6.32pm - #0405AARS – Number 905, Greensheilds Place.' I pulled out the pamphlet again, 'The School, located at 905, Greensheilds Place.' The perfect match.

"The School. But wait. That's not a mobile phone number, or at least not one from this planet. '#0405AARS', what is that?"

"Angel is... different, special. She has a long history of medical abnormalities and so a sort of microchip was inserted into her arm when she was a baby so that the doctors could scan it and monitor her progress without the need of incisions."

"So you tracked this microchip? That's genius, but how did you manage to pull that off? Those things are government issued; only police and medical practitioner have access to that information, let alone to the technology that could track it!" ... so I know a bit about this kind of stuff. Deal with it!

Fang looked at me, eyebrow raised, clearly impressed about my knowledge in this area of expertise. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like people haven't ever tried to con me into the whole 'genetic fingerprinting', 'microchip the criminal' business. How did you track it anyway? You must be way technologically savvy to pull that kind of hacking off... not to mention all of this as well." I looked at the list of names again, all definite mobile numbers that had been traced, traced back to the school.

"20th June 2012: 6.32pm - #0405AARS – Angel Martinez - Number 905, Greensheilds Place, 20th June 2012: 6.32pm – 0405144908 – Gazzy Crawford - Number 905, Greensheilds Place, 20th June 2012: 6.32pm – 0458992099 – Nudge Cassidy - Number 905, Greensheilds Place... you traced all these a month ago?"

Fang shrugged. "I know a guy who knows a guy who is good with computers, with just about everything really. And, that right there is the name of the guy I am looking for, also given to me by the computer genius!" He pointed to the piece of scrap paper with a name scribbled frantically on it. "Supposedly, he can help me get into the school; he has a connection or something."

"And you know this person? This name? You've met them before?" I looked into Fangs eyes to see if he was joking or not, what on earth was he talking about? My eyes widened with shock.

I looked down at the creased paper and the name again, the 'man' who would supposedly help Fang get to his sister, who had a 'connection' into The School.

"M. Ride."

Max Ride.

Me?


End file.
